Five Palestinian children injured after Israeli settlers set fire to their home

Palestinians look at damages inside a house that was fired overnight by suspected Jewish extremists in an apparent revenge attack on November 14, 2013 in Sinjil, a village in the West Bank, northeast of Ramallah (AFP Photo / Abbas Momani) / AFP

At least five Palestinian children were injured after settlers torched their home north of the West Bank city of Ramallah, local media reported. It comes just one day after an Israeli soldier was stabbed on a bus in the area.

A conflicting report from Press TV stated that the children died
in the attack.

The incident took place in the village of Sinjil, located 21
kilometers northeast of Ramallah, when a group of settlers
attacked the house during the night, Palestine News Network
reported adding that the children were taken to a nearby hospital
for treatment. Three adults also reportedly suffered injuries.

The attackers painted racist graffiti on the wall saying the act
was revenge for the recent stabbing of an Israeli soldier, local
WAFA news agency reported.

A 16-year-old Palestinian from Jenin stabbed and killed the
soldier on a bus in Afula, a city in the North District of
Israel, on Wednesday. The attack was supposedly motivated
by Israel's jailing of his uncles, Reuters reported, citing
police. The killer was caught as he tried to flee after
passengers streamed off the bus shouting “terrorist, terrorist.”

Such attacks are common in the region, as tensions have been
running high since Israel accelerated the construction of Jewish
settlements in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority strongly
opposes the construction on the territories which are claimed by
both sides.

Palestinians claim rights for the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and
Gaza Strip territories that were occupied by Israel during the
Six Day War in 1967. Meanwhile, Israel claims that it has
historic links to the land.

The ongoing expansion of the settlement program has been widely
criticized by the international community. US Secretary of State
John Kerry has said that his country does not approve of Israel’s
settlement policies.

“Let me emphasize that the position of the United States is
that we consider now, and have always considered, the settlements
to be illegitimate,” Kerry said after meeting with
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Bethlehem at the beginning
of November.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for
his government to reconsider long-term construction plans. The
move came after Abbas warned Israel that peace talks brokered by
the US will be hindered unless the program is canceled.